SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford’s Tyler Hood has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for all games played Dec. 16-22, while Furman’s Geoff Beans earned the CRONS Freshman of the Week Award, the league office announced Tuesday (Dec. 23).

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tyler Hood, F, Sr., Lenoir City, Tenn.
Tyler Hood averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, one block and shot 56 percent from the field last week as Samford earned wins over Presbyterian (81-71) and Louisiana-Monroe (64-50).  Hood tied his career high with six 3-pointers in the win at Presbyterian and pulled down a team-high five rebounds against the Blue Hose.  The Lenoir City, Tenn., native also grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists against Louisiana-Monroe.  The senior was 9-of-16 (.563) from 3-point range for the week.  Hood is now 40-points shy of 1,000 for his career.

Other nominees: Ashton Moore (The Citadel), Stephen Croone (Furman), Greg Pryor (Chattanooga) and Rhett Harrelson (Western Carolina).

CRONS Freshman of the Week: Geoff Beans, F, Toledo, Ohio
Furman’s Geoff Beans has been named the CRONS Freshman of the Week award for the second time this season after averaging 15.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in a pair of games at Florida Gulf Coast and Minnesota.  The forward opened the week with 16 points and three rebounds at FGCU before tallying 14 points and three rebounds at Minnesota Monday night.  Beans added two steals on the week and has now scored in double figures in each of his last five games for Furman.

Other nominees: Jake Wright (The Citadel), Christen Cunningham (Samford) and Devin Peterson (Western Carolina).

SoCon Men’s Basketball Player of the Week
Nov. 18 – James Sinclair, Western Carolina
Nov. 25 – Karl Cochran, Wofford
Dec. 2 – Casey Jones, Chattanooga
Dec. 9 – QJ Peterson, VMI
Dec. 16 – Tevon Saddler, UNCG
Dec. 23 – Tyler Hood, Samford